Johnny Depp is Headed for an Ugly Divorce Battle by Leslie O’Neal

The marriage of Johnny Depp to Amber Heard is coming to a bitter and very public end. The Pirates of the Caribbean star reportedly first met the lesser known actress on the set of their movie “The Rum Diary” in 2009. The pair married in 2015, and Heard filed for divorce just 15 short months later. Less than a week after filing her divorce petition, Heard personally appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, along with her attorney, and filed a request for a temporary restraining Order against Depp for the purpose of protecting her safety.

Heard alleged in her Restraining Order Petition that Depp threw her cellphone at her, pulled her hair, hit her repeatedly, and grabbed her face. Heard’s further testified that she “endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to [her] whenever [she] questioned his authority or disagreed with him.” To support her assertions, Heard’s attorney submitted photographs of bruising on Heard’s face, alleged to be caused by Depp.

After reviewing the allegations of her Petition, Judge Carl H. Moor granted Heard’s request for a Temporary Restraining Order against Depp, though he rejected Heard’s request that Depp attend a year’s worth of anger management classes and that the protective order extend to her Yorkshire terrier. Judge Moor scheduled a follow-up court date for June 17, at which point Depp will have the opportunity to appear and defend himself, which can include calling any witnesses he has available to disprove Heard’s allegations.

The process for a Protective Order in California is very similar to the Protective Order process for victims in Georgia. In Georgia, a person who has been the victim of violence or the threat of violence may file a Petition for an Emergency Protective Order in the Superior Court of the County where the Defendant resides. The alleged abuser would not be given notice of this hearing in Georgia due to the emergency nature of the issue. As was the case in Heard’s California hearing, if a Georgia court believes the allegations present a potential risk to the accuser’s safety, it will grant an Emergency Protective Order to the accuser and schedule follow-up hearing to allow the accused to present his/her side of the case. If the Court finds in favor of the accuser at the follow-up hearing, the Court will extend the emergency Protective Order for a longer period of time, typically at least twelve months, and prohibit contact of any kind between the parties.

Unfortunately for Depp, the upcoming Protective Order hearing on June 17 isn’t the only challenge he faces in his looming divorce battle. Heard has also requested that the Court grant her an award of $50,000 per month in support. This request remains outstanding, and is being made despite the brevity of the marriage and the fact that the couple have no children together. Courts in Georgia have the authority to award temporary and permanent alimony in divorce cases, although this is done on a case by case basis with the Court considering several different factors, such as the standard of living established during the marriage, the length of the marriage, the age and condition of the parties, the financial resources of each party, and the time necessary for the parties to gain employment. Regardless of whether the Court grants Heard’s alimony request, it’s safe to say that this is shaping up to be one expensive celebrity divorce case.